backhanded
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It may be a backhanded way of acknowledging that she’d be quite formidable if she decided to get in.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
His positional awareness has also earned praise although his work-rate and desire to cover as much ground as possible mean he often tires himself out - a potential backhanded compliment.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 27, 2025
In a 1919 review of a pair of books by Theodore Dreiser, Virginia Woolf issued some exquisitely backhanded praise for the Indiana-born author, whose writing, she thought, stood out for its roughness and vitality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
He offers a kind of backhanded compliment: There’s a “snob factor” at Truman’s neighboring high schools that does not exist here.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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